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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ruler · pop · content · fine · tear · bat · capital · foot

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pop — to visit
  3. foot — a measure
  4. capital — money
  5. pop — music
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. fine — high quality
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. content — happy
  11. bat — the animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pop — soda
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. capital — a city
  21. content — the amount
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — all right
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com